North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a speech during a visit to the Central Cadres Training School of the Workers' Party of Korea on June 1 to mark the institution's 80th anniversary, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency the next day. [YONHAP]
North Korea continued illegal exports of coal and minerals last year in violation of United Nations sanctions, with coal exports reaching 1.5 million tons, a lawmaker said Sunday, citing South Korea's spy agency.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) assessed that North Korea's imports of refined oil from China and Russia in 2025 also exceeded seven times the 500,000-barrel cap set by the UN, according to Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party.
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"North Korea has continued to export minerals, such as coal and iron ore, which are completely banned under UN Security Council sanctions resolutions, by using both North Korean-flagged and foreign-flagged cargo vessels from China, Russia and third countries, in addition to smuggling in refined petroleum products," Rep. Yu said in a press release.
